Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-10-04

much. As we approached the barn-'There,
therel Don't you hear him! Don't you hear
HING exclaimed John Well | did seem to,
but let on nothing. The door was open, |
stepped in, John followed 'Therel therel
there! See i'm. See 'imr John cried, in an
awfully frightened voice. felt him, would
not look up, but quietly lit the wick, which
burned up quick, and strongly,
Il held it up. and did look up The beam
was vacant, ali the upper part empty. 4 ee
nothingp | answered, shifting the lamp about
By -! by - nor do L. said Whitlan,
about as much surprised as before Here
hold the lantern, while feed them, said to
him He took the fork, pitched the hay over
the gir:, and distributed it to the waiting
cattle. We went out, closed the door i'll 81
lence and moved away. There! there!
Don't you hear iml Don't you hear 'im' ex-
claimed John. l laughed in a make as if
way, the best could do tho't l did hear
him. and continued to, till some rods away.
Il told Whitlan to hold his tongue for his
own sake as well as for the sake of our neigh
bors. Nobody would believe he had seen OF
heard anything, and it would only annoy
the family | don't think he did for some
time after
well, the boys themselves, with some of
their cousins-who came to stay with them
did the chores there or undertook to, the next
night. They heard the voice, saw the impish
figure, ran back to the house, sent over to Inc,
and with my lantern went over. 1t was Il
worse time than on the first night-the night
OF The tragedy. OF course, when | went, it
was still, and nothing could be seen. | tried
to explain it away, as a mere, rather wide
spread illusion, amounting TO a delusion, and
such have always regarded it, and pacified
them for the time Well, it was the same
the next night, and the next | told them
they had for the time better remove the
cattle and not use the barn, for the ghost had
now taken such hold of them that there
would be no other way, I feared.
That was the beginning of it. Everything
was right in the morning, during the day, all
day, till the approach of night, then the calls
began, and when the inside was dusky with
oncoming night men fancied they saw the
shapeless form. Light up and it vanished
with the shadows, nor w1s the voice heard
when any one was in the barn. Go out, close
the door, and it began again. Sometimes,
when one left the first thing was Tow,
snickering laugh. Well, it was all over
from that night. 1t got out-the neighbors
came, till far and near there was excitement
it got into the papers. Once in a while one
came who could neither see nor hear any
thing. Finally the season grew warm, the
cattle were changed to sheds elsewhere but it
made no difference with the thing. whatever
it was, something or nothing that remained
Those who wanted it could always find it, at
4 - =
dusk. Strike light and it was not there
"They used the barn that summer, but never
after much A new house was built further
away. The frost finally upset the underpilr
ming at one corner, which fell down a little,
Weeds grew rank about it; finally trees came
up around IT Folks had a fancy for pines
and funeral evergreens at an early'tiay, and
there was clump of these that quite cut the
old barn off from the old house a thicket
OF wild plums from one originally PLANTED
grew up tall and thick, between it and the
road. Naples, beeches, sprang up. The
swallows ceased to build in 1t, the rats de
serted 1t, men ceased to speak of it, no one
went near 1t, and so 1t in way died off. 1t
is there still"
Then there was talk about what it was. if
anything, among the old boys, of whom the
two from Michigan had never visited the
place
"The fact is" said R., "a few thousand or
hundred thousand years ago, we were cave
and river drift men, Digger Indians in fact.
from which the white man has never wholly
escaped We've progressed only in streaks
Our cave side, Digger part, at times predom.
mates Every one has large share of prim-
tive night This thing got itself started as
a fungus of this ground. ToadstOols always
come up in the night. The first we know of
them we find them fully grown in the morn
ing. This thing, once started, lived on this
shady, damp, and for all fOolishness, rich
human soil
Dan agreed with him in the main, though
both admitted that they had heard the voice
Capt. John differed from them. Monroe was
undecided; said he had some of the soil in
which toadstoOls might grow. Thee said that
the weight of evidence was in favor of some
unusual visitation, and wished he had been
there in the day of it,
"Oh, it is as much there now as it ever
was" said Z. 'T'll bet a haystack against a
new version of the Old Testament that if we
go there now you'll hear the cattle calls. or
think you do This is the very witching hour
and the very season for it." =,
done" cried Theo. LET us 90, boysr
1t was agreed to at once. The kettles were
filled with cold sap, the fire pulled away so
that no harm might occur to the partly re-
duced syrup, and the party moved toward the
open ground.
Your wager" said Dan to R., sis hardly
fair. If Theodore denies hearing or seeing,
you lose"
"Oh, you can trust a Seven Day Baptist"
called out William, which provoked small
laugh.
1T is just the night for ghosts said Capt.
John, locking about
He was right. The moon in its second
quarter furnished all the light. The sky was
tiecked with small, high up, slow moving
clouds, and to fancy quiekened by the eerie
tale Just told the air seemed filled with fit
ting shadows and phantoms. "The chances
are all against me, said Theo, who had Joined
in the small laugh, recurring to Dams re-
mark This whole old region is filed with
ghosts. can't take a step without soaring
up broods and focks of old time memories,
spirits of the departed. This morning went
out into the south woods, where Decide and |
used to hunt, go for chestnuts, loaf and play |
The woods are haunted. | could not breathe |
was choked, suffocated rushed out into |
the open fields, and as | turned and looked |
back could almost see human forms stand |
ing under the trees, reckoning to me"
"Oh, you'll find him all right" said Monroe |
N an assuring voice. |
The dear old region had been noted
amous, in sad way, for the number of its
uicides. twas inevitable that the list should
'e gone over with as they leisurely passed
'ver the high rolling ground on their way to
be haunted run a half mile away.
1t stood solitary on gentle eastern slope
urrounded-hidden, in fact-by trees and
mall growths, which they approached on its
ark side, now black in contrast with the
ray landscape dimly lit by the slender moon
repaired, expectant, their voices fell low,
md ceased as they passed the east side Of the
rees and growths to the front on the south
ioe' Inc outline was awry. the large doors
Jar, warped and partly fallen, the roof rot
EN- and in several places open-decay. deser.
ion and utter silence seemed to brood over
he ruins.